Evaporating system for moisture-containing materials.



G. i). HARIS.

EVAPOHAHNG SYSTEM PGR MOISTURE commmm MATERIALS.

APPLICAUGN FRLED NGV. 1i, i9!

5. RNEWE NOV. 4,1919.

Patented Mur. 4, i910.

Wl TN E 88E 8:

/NVENTOR- A nonni r,s

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GORDON DON HARRIS, 0F BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY.'

EVAPORATING SYSTEM FOR MOISTURE-CONTAINING MATERIALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

Continuation of application Serial lNo. 783,007, led August 5, 1913. This application tiled November 11,

1915, Serial No. 60,891.

To all whom. it may conr'ern:

Be it known that I, (oanox DON Hamas, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bayonne, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Eraporating stem for Moisture- (lontaining Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to the art ot drying l'noistureeontaining Substances ot' different kinds, such as peat which, as is well known. contains a. high percentage of mointure, fertilizers ot' different kinds, .sueh as humus andA phosphates, paints and paint materials, sueh as white lead. soap, linoleums and other coated materials in sheet or web form, and many other kinds ot' materials.

In companion applications tiled on eren date herewith, Serial Numbers olmo!) and ($0,890, there are disclosed an apparatus and a process for economically drying materials, the salient feature of which consists, among other things, in the operation ot' condition-E ing a drying medium, such as air. with a view to maintaining the drying medium at a predetermined temperature notwithstamling its repeated contacts with the masses of .moisture-containing material, as a result of which conditioningr operation the drying medimn is maintained throughout itsllow with4 in all the ehanrbers ol the system at` such a 1iredetermim'd temperature that its capacity t'or absoithing moisture, is not im )aired to an appreciable extent hy repente( contact with the masses ot' material. This is acco1nplished by Irelniating the drying medium, mainly, for the, purpose if-conditioning it so as to impart thereto a capacity for evaporating moisture from the material under treatment unimpaired substantially by the moisture absorbed during the flow ot' .said drying medium through the .several chambers. and while this substantially nnvarying temperature of the drying medium is suitable for the treatment ot' ecrtain suhstances, it in found unsuitable for the. treat nient ol other sutbstanees containing av high prerentage ot moisture, or for treating suh4 :stances which part with, or gire ott', their moisture, slowly. i

According to the present invention. the drying medium, is, preferably, :cated to a predetermined temperature, and it is reheat.- ed alternately with its contacts with the ma4 terial, so as to gradually or progressively Renewed November 4, 1918. Serial No. 261,148.

increase the temperature ot the drying medium, with a View to expanding the volume ot' said medium and ot imparting thereto a. greatly increased capacity for evaporating moisture from the materials under treatment. whereby drying medium is So (fonditioned that, notwithstanding the redlurtion in temperature due to repealed contacts with the. materials and the consequent absorption of moisture therefrom, .said drying medium will he raised in temperature gradually by the reheating operations so that the, outllowing el'trrent will have a temperature in excess of that of the initially heated intlowing drying medium. This renders the invention peculiarly suitable for theI treatment of materials which contain a high 'percentage ot' moistureV or which give ott' the moisture slowly. particnlarlr in the opera.- tion of drying materials possessing such physical properties that said material aro not injurioasly atl'ected by a high tempera ture 1nt)istilreaihsorhing agent.

Athough l have mentioned air as the moisture eraporating agent to be circulated into contact with the materials, it is apparent that other agents, such as dirent heat or boiler room gases, may he utilized in treat.- ing such materials as peat., or I may use .steam or suma-heated .steam for treating eoated materials. such as linoleum, experience haring lshown that the oxidation ot' the coating applied to linoleums will be more rapidly etlected hy the use of an agent hav- `ing a certain percentage of moisture and heated to a relatively high telnla-rature.

As showing the vapor weight in grains` which air in capable ot' absorbing to the point ot' saturation. per cubic foot, for various temperatures atordinary atmospheric pressures, reference is made t0 the, following table:

Degrees Grains in a Fahren/mil. w cubicfoot.

85 12. 4B l() 14'. 38 95 16. (il) 104) 1S). l i. 105 12.4

141i 5S. 157 H5. 4 170 1i?. 5

It is apparent that by reheating the drying medium so as to progressively increase or raise the temperature thereof as it flows through the several chambers and into contact with the successive masses of material, the capacity of said drying agent. for evaporatin moisture will remain unimpaired, notwit standing the evaporation of moisture from the masses of material adjacent to the path of the flowing agent. Assuming the drying agent to be initially heated to 1300 Fahrenheit, its volume is such as to carry 42.5 grains per cubic foot, and as it Hows into contact with the successivo layers, this capacity would ordinarily be decreased y absorption of moisture therefrom, ,particularly if the materials were of a nature to give ott' or part with moisture freely. This evaporation of moisture ordinarily decreases the temperature, but according to my invention the loss in heat units is coinpensated for by reheating the drying agent. at frequent intervals so as to gradually raise the temperature, say to l141" Fahrenheit, at which temperature the drying agent has a capacity vfor carrying 58.0 grains per cubic foot, or in some cases said drying agent is reheated as it Hows throu h the apparatus vat 157 Fahrenheit, at w ich temperature it has a capacity for carrying 85.0 grains per cubic foot, as shown by the table.

The invention involves, also, the circulation of a gaseous drying agent back and forth so as to flow overl and beneath the layers and into contact with the top and bottom surfaces of the material, and it includes, also, the circulation of a drying agent under pressure, say of one-half ounce to two or three ounces, so as to direct said agent against, and to secure an intimate Contact of the dryrigg medium with, the material under treat nt The drawing illustrates diagrammaticall \y one section of an evaporator embodying the present invention.

In the apparatus shown, A de "gnates nn exterior casing adapted to contibhi a series of trays E within a series of chambers so that the `drying agent, usually rpreheated air, admitted to the casing will flow into Contact successively with the material on the trays, and under pressure into contact with the top and bottom surfaces of the material on each tray, the interior of said casing being divided into u series of material-treating chambers and two series ol' heater-containing chambers, as will now be described.

ln the upper part of casing A is a partition b which entends from one wall of the chamber nearly to the opposite wall thereof so as to produce an upper chamber B. The drying agent is admitted to this upper chamber by an inlet e, and within said upper clunnber is positioned a heater consisting of coils of pipe through which is adapted to circulate a heatingr medinnnsnch as steam or hot water. The drying agent is intended to be heated initially. prior to its admission by the inlet e. and the inflow/ing.r gaseous agent is heated by contact with the coils of heater C so as to raise its te perature to a substantial extent, when n the drying agent when initially admitted is heated to a temperature suitable for contact with the material in the chambers.

Below the partition b and the upper chamber B formed thereby, is another partition fl extending from one wall of the chamlier nearly to the opposite wall thereof, similar to the partition The partitions J1 d produce between them a material-treatytapering passageis` or spaces above und be low the tray. respectively, through which passages or spaces the drying agent will flow in a manner to he slightly retarded by frictional Contact with the partitions. as a result of which the drying agent is placed under pressure while in contact with the material. The tray E is positioned about midway between the partitions l; and said tray is at some distance from the walls of casing A, thus resulting in chambers l*` (l at the respective ends of chamber l). The chamber I" is in communication with chamber B, s0 that the drying ugent will How from chamber B through chamber l". and into und through chamber said drying medium llowing over the material ou tray l@ and being directed into contact with the upper surface ot' said material: thence the drying medium Ytiows into und through chamber (l. and is directed into contact with the under surface of the material resting ou tray E. the drying medium thus flowing lunder pressure and into direct contact with both the upper and lower surfaces ot' the -materinl on r-.ii tray.

Below the partition d are other partitions li. i j Z- Z m o extending from one wall of the casing nearly to the opposite wall thereof, and producing a lseries ot' materialtreuting chambers li l .l l( L M (l adapted to contain a series ol' trays. cach similar to the tray E in chamber l). The partitions thus described occupy an inclined relation to the trays within the chambers. so as to produce the tapering spaces above und be low said trays, for the purpose ot' retardiug thc flow of the drying agent, whereby the drying medium Yis placed under pressure, and is directed toward the top and bottoln surfaces of the material so as to secure an intimate contact of said medium with such upper and lower surfaces of the layers of material present on the several trays.

Similarly, a series of chambers F G are provided at thc, respective ends of the chambers H to O, inclusive, said chambers F l being in communication with the niaterial-treatingr chambers so that the drying agent will flow successively through the material-treating chambers and the heatercontaining chambers. In the chambers F G F G are positioned suitable heaters or boosters P consisting` of coils of pipes through which a heating medium is adapted to circulate; I may-usc steam, bot water, or any other medium for heating the dryingr agent which flows through the apparatus and `successively into and through the material-treating chambers thereof.

An essential feature of the present invention consists in the employment ot boosters or heaters having successively greater heating capacity; thus, the first booster or heater in the chamber F has a capacity for keepingT the drying agent at the temperature to which it is raised by the action of heater C; the heater` or booster in the chainber G has an increased capacity. over the booster or heater in the chamber F, and so on throughout the series of boosters or heaters P in the Successive chambers F' G throughout the apparatus. As shown in the drawing, the successive boosters or heaters are constructed with y increasing numbers of coils in order to secure the successively increased Vcapacity required to progressively increasebr successively raise the temperature of the drying agent flowingr through the material-treating chambers.

The material or materials are placed on the trays and said trays are introduced into the material-treating chambers so that they will be intermediate the topand bottom partitions thereof. The drying agent admitted at inlet c is initially heated, say to a.' temperature of 80 Fahrenheit, and by Hou-'ing into contact with heater C the temperature of said drying agent is raised, say to 110O Fahrenheit. The drying agent then Hows into contact with the upper surface of the material on the first tray, at which time Ythe temperature of said agent is somewhat decreased owing to the evaporation of moisture from the materialrthcnce the drying agentv Hows into contact with the first booster or heater, by the operation of which its tcmperatuie is increased to a desired degree: thence the drying agent Hows into contact with the under surface of the material on the first tray. The drying agent then Hows out of the first material-treating Chamber into lthe second booster chamber, and by rected under pressure against the upper and lower surfaces of each layer, and into contact with boosters or reheaters in the intcrrals between its contacts with the material, as a result of which the drying agent is progressively increased in temperature by the boosters or reheaters so that the moisture-cvaporating and moisture-carrying capacity of the dryingr agent is increased by the expansion in volume due to repeated relicatings. The drying agent is thus kept in a condition suitable for evaporating the moist-ure from a large number of layers o f material, and from materials containinga high percentage of moisture, and owing to the action of the boosters or reheaters upon the drying agent it will How out of the casing A through exit q at a temperature exceeding the temperature of the drying agent to which it is initially heated by the action of heater C.

The present application is a continuation ci my prior application Serial No. 783,007 sled Aug. 5, 1913.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letteis Patent is z- 1. ln the art of drying moisture-containing materials, the process which consists in circulating a drying agent, heated to a predetermined temperature, into contact with successive masses of material and simultaneously therewith retarding the How of 'such dryingagent while in the presence of each massI so as to secure intimate contact with such material and during such circulation reheating or boosting the dryin agent between the intervals of contact with the ma terial and to increasingly hi rher temperatures for expanding the v0 time of such drying agent and increasing its' absorptivm to' a predetermined temperature, through all the compartments and back and forth within.

acquires a certain predetermined saturation Y of moisture.

3. In a drier, the combination of a series Aof material treating chambers, means for supporting the material in separated masses one within each chamber, means for circulating a drying agent back and forth within each chamber and into contact with the upper and under surfaces of each mass, the material-supporting means being so disposed with reference to the Walls of the chambers as to oppose the free flow of the drying agent through said chambers and While in contact with the masses of 4material therein, and boosters or reheaters of successively increasing capacity positioned adjacent to the chambers and in'the path of the drying agent flowing through said chambers.

4. In a drier, the combination of a series of chambers the Walls of which form passageways, means for. supporting material to be treated in separated masses one Within each chamber, means for initially heating a gaseous drying agent to a predetermined temperature, boosters or reheaters positioned adjacent to the passageways and also positoned between the chambers, said boosters or reheaters being of pro ressively increasing capacity, and means or circulating the gaseous drying agent through the passageways into contact with the masses of.ma terlai in the chambers, and into contact With the boosters or l'eheaters in the intervals between its contacts with the successiveY masses and with the upper and under surfaces of each mass, the walls of said cham- -bers and the ma rial-supporting means beling arranged wit respect to` each other so as to oppose the flow of the drying` medium lto and to secure an intimate contact of said drying medium with the upper and under surfaces of each mass. I

In a drier, the combination with a series of material-treating chambers, and means for supporting the material in separated layers therein, of means for circulating a gaseous drying medium under pressure through the chambers successively and back and forth in each chamber and into contact with the top and bottom surfaces of each layer, and boosters or reheaters of successively increasing area and capacity for raising the temperature of the drying agent increasingly as it fiows through chambers remote to the inlet, therefor, said reheaters or boosters being positionedin the path of the drying agent as it circulates back and forth in each chamber.

6. In the art of evaporating moisturecontaining materials, the process which consists in separating the moist material into individual masses, circulating a gaseous drying medium, controlling the flow of said gaseous drying medium under pressure and into contact with each mass. and conditioning said drying medium during said circulation by relie-ating it in the intervals between its contacts with the masses and to progressively increasing temperatures between the initial and final periods of Contact with said masses.

7. In the art of evaporating moisture-containing materials, the process which consists in separating the moist material into in-` dividual masses, heating a gaseous drying medium to a desired temperature and vcirculating said medium under pressure, controlling the flow of said medium by directing the same under pressure and in Contact with each mass, said medium iiowing into contact with said masses successively, and conditioning saidv drying medium during such circulation by reheating said medium to .progressively increasing temperatures between its periods of initial and final contacts with said masses.

In ,testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

GORDON DON HARRIS. 

